Swindon MPs, Justin Tomlinson and Robert Buckland, have welcomed the latest unemployment statistics which show that unemployment has once again fallen across the town.
The Office for National Statistics, which produces data on vast range of indicators including unemployment, has released data that shows in November both unemployment and youth unemployment for the two constituencies which cover Swindon had fallen by more than 50%. Since May 2010, unemployment in Swindon has dropped by 56.8%, while youth unemployment has fallen by around 55.7%. This means that 2,737 people across Swindon have found employment and the security that comes with a regular pay cheque and 7,400 more people across the town are employed today than four years ago.
The statistics nationally show that since May 2010, the number of people in work has risen by 1.75 million to 30.81 million while the unemployment rate has fallen to 6% (down from 8% in 2010), reaching the independent Office of Budget Responsibility’s target more than two years early. Crucially, jobs are being created across a wide variety of industries and in the last twelve months, full-time jobs accounted for 95% of the rise in employment, meaning that an increasing number of people can enjoy the security of a regular wage.
Key achievements under this Government
- Employment:81 million (up 115,000 this quarter and up 1.75 million since the election).
- Employment rate: 73% (up 0.2% this quarter and up 2.7% since the election).
- Unemployment rate: 6% (down 0.2% this quarter and down 2% since the election).
- Claimant count: 900,100 in November (down 26,900 on October and over half a million lower than May 2010)
Other useful statistics: including full-time jobs, youth unemployment and long-term unemployment
- Nearly 2.2 million people are employed in the private sector since May 2010
- Over three quarters of the number of people in work since May 2010 are in full-time jobs – full-time jobs accounted for 95% of the rise in employment over the past year.
- Youth unemployment is 185,000 lower than May 2010 and the number of young people claiming the main unemployment benefit is at its lowest level since the 1970s.
- Long-term unemployment (those out of work for more than 12 months) is down 104,000 since May 2010.
- Since 2010 two thirds of the rise in employment has been in higher skilled occupations.
- The number of women in work is at a record high of 14.4 million.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: "Yet again we have seen an incredibly welcome fall in both unemployment and youth unemployment across out town. In North Swindon I am pleased to see that unemployment and youth unemployment have fallen by more than 58% each. In the last year 1,369 people across Swindon have moved from receiving out-of-work support and into employment. This means they are receipt of a regular wage and as we have seen, nationally during that period 95% of the jobs were full-time.”
Robert Buckland MP said: "We have 7,400 more people in employment across Swindon than four years ago and crucially, youth unemployment in our town has now been more than halved since the general election, thanks to our apprenticeship programme and education reforms, giving more and more young people the skills they need to find work in our growing economy. In South Swindon, we have seen both unemployment and youth unemployment more than halved since May 2010 and nationally 95% of jobs in the last twelve months were full-time.”
Below are a series of graphs showing the falls in unemployment and youth unemployment across Swindon since May 2010 (Source: Office of National Statistics)
